


C-A-R-L

by thedragonemperess



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Mentioned Alex Mercer - Freeform, Mentioned Chad Danforth, Mentioned Julie Molina, Mentioned Ray Molina, Mentioned Reggie Peters - Freeform, Mentioned Rose Molina - Freeform, Mentioned Ryan Evans, Mentioned Victoria Molina, apparently, mentioned luke patterson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-05
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-18 00:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29849829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedragonemperess/pseuds/thedragonemperess
Summary: What happens to Bobby after the boys' death.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	C-A-R-L

**Author's Note:**

> Based on these two Tumblr posts:  
> https://thedragonemperess.tumblr.com/post/644735687734837248/its-completely-fine-we-gotta-have-some-angst-in  
> https://trevor-wilson-covington.tumblr.com/post/641313634417623040/the-fa%C3%A7ade-vs-the-real-i-need-a-season-2

They were supposed to grow old together. To travel together. To _play_ together.

None of this was supposed to happen.

They were supposed to play the gig of their lives and go down in history.

But that didn’t happen.

Now Bobby was alone, walking down the street, in the middle of the night. It was cold, and he didn’t have a jacket, but he couldn’t tell. His best friends, his brothers, were gone. He had no idea what to do now. He had no plans for the future, no idea how to handle himself. He was 17 years old, plummeting through the void, with nothing to break his fall.

He was walking, and walking, and walking, but nothing changed. His head didn’t get any clearer, his emotions weren’t any easier to understand, and they weren’t coming back.

Alex, Luke, and Reggie.

Alex Mercer, Luke Patterson, and Reggie Peters.

Alexander James Mercer, Lucas Andrew Patterson, and Reginald Micheal Peters.

Three of the most energetic, optimistic, funny, passionate people he has ever known. They were the people that made his life worth living. And now they’re gone......

He wanted to do something for them. He wanted to do something to honor them. But what could he do? It’s not like any of their parents really cared about them. Luke’s parents didn’t support him, Alex’s parents all but hated him, and Reggie’s parents barely even noticed he was gone. Besides, he didn’t have enough money for anything big.

Their future, their _legacy_ , seemed…..lost.

That’s when he came across a tattoo parlor.

_Alex_  
_Reggie_  
_Luke_

Without giving it a second thought, he walked into the place to see if there were any open spots for him now. And there were, if he was okay with paying an extra fee. He didn’t care, he just wanted to do something for his friends.

It was a simple tattoo. It was an A, R, and L on his upper left arm. It wouldn’t seem like much to an outsider. Maybe a weird way to spell ‘Earl’. But Bobby knew, and he wasn’t ever gonna forget.

A few years went by pretty well. He still missed them, he never stopped, but things got easier. He was able to get back to being a teen. He used some of the money the band had made and some of his parents’ money to help pay for college, getting a job to pay for whatever was left.

But these new responsibilities didn’t stop him from doing dumb things.

Next thing he knew, he had a daughter. A daughter he loved more than anything else in the world. A daughter he named Carrie. The only problem was that he didn’t have enough money to care for her. He couldn’t ask anyone else for help, they’d already done so much for him, so it seemed like he was stuck.

Until he saw Luke’s notebook in the garage.

He hadn’t changed anything, everything was the same as they had left it, so why it came as a surprise that it was there, he had no clue. Nevertheless, it was there, and full of songs that they never got to play. Bobby walked over to the notebook, carefully picked it up, and slowly flipped through its pages. So many things flew through his mind, an overwhelming amount of emotion taking over him.

_“I could sell them,”_ he thought, but quickly dismissed the idea. They wouldn’t want others to perform their songs, they’d want him to perform it.

That’s when it hit him.

He could perform their songs. Let them see the light of day, while also building a name for himself and providing for Carrie.

So that’s what he did. Although, he almost didn’t. He was told that if he told the world that his dead friends made the songs, he wouldn’t take off. He didn’t want to believe it, but had no choice. He went through with a name change, going from Robert to Trevor, and didn’t didn’t tell a soul about Sunset Curve.

They were forgotten.

Every time he looks at that tattoo, he regrets it. And it’s hard to not look at it when it’s a part of your body. So he decided to add another letter.

A C.

The C stood for Carrie, the person he did all of this for. The light of his life and the only reason he woke up in the morning when all of this first started. It was a reminder that, sometimes, under the right circumstances, two wrongs do make a right.

It was a simple tattoo. It was a C, A, R, and L on his upper left arm. It wouldn’t seem like much to an outsider. Maybe a brother or cousin. But Trevor knew, and he wasn’t ever gonna forget.

And it worked for a while. It was for his little girl, and that helped.

Until he saw the A, R, and L in CARL performing at the orpheum with his daughter’s ex-best friend.

He knew that life was weird, but it wasn’t this weird. They were dead, and they have been for the past 25 years.

So how were they there?

He didn’t know, but he wanted to. So he bought tickets for him and Carrie, and they went to see them perform.

_Julie and the Phantoms_

How fitting.

When their time on stage was up, he didn’t know how to react. Trevor wanted to go, but Bobby wanted to stay. The audience stood and clapped, but he stayed seated. He didn’t know what to do, his mind racing with a million different possibilities of how that just happened.

He pulled up his sleeve and looked at his tattoo.

_CARL_

It hadn’t changed. Why would it? But yet…..it seemed different. The C no longer stopped the guilt and anxiety from overtaking him. He should have been smart, then he wouldn’t have been in this mess. But if he was smart, the C would cease to exist, and he didn’t know if he could live without her. He should have gone with them and stopped them from eating those poisoned hot dogs. But if he did, would he have the friends that he has today? Chad, and Ryan, and Ray, and Victoria, and Rose.

He liked his life, he just didn’t like how he acquired it.

So he sat up.

And he clapped.

And he was the last one clapping.

And the next day, he would go see Julie.

And he would see his band mates.

And he would say that he’s sorry.

It was a simple tattoo. It was a C, A, R, and L on his upper left arm. It wouldn’t seem like much to an outsider. Maybe an acronym, which was truer than they would ever know. But Bobby/Trevor knew, and he wasn’t ever gonna forget.


End file.
